1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to container systems and, more particularly, to a self-supporting textile package for shipping cut fabric parts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In today's modern apparel operations, fabric is often cut to size at one location and assembled into a final garment at another location. This is done, in part, because lower cost sewing operations may be some distance away from the best site for fabric manufacturing.
Currently, individual parts for a garment are cut and matched up to provide the necessary pieces to assemble a number of garments. The parts are then packed in a cardboard container such as a "UNI-PAK" container, which consists of a plastic base and a cardboard sleeve (Uni-Pak.RTM. containers are manufactured by Shuert Industries, Sterling Heights, Mich.).
While such containers have been commercially successful, they weigh about 60 pounds each and must be returned to the fabric manufacturing plants in order to be reused. As can be appreciated, this adds significantly to the freight costs associated with moving the fabric pieces between multiple locations.
Thus, there remains a need for a new and improved self-supporting textile package which is sufficiently strong to support and protect the fabric pieces from dirt, oil and grease while, at the same time, may be discarded after one use to avoid return shipment costs.